


the overwhelming light surrounding us

by anneweaver



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, all fluff no plot, should prob offer wine with all this cheese
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6669532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anneweaver/pseuds/anneweaver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The sun is starting to come out now, can you see it? This is your very first sunrise."</p>
<p>(Jemma and Fitz watch the sunrise with their newborn daughter.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	the overwhelming light surrounding us

Jemma slowly opens her eyes and stirs quietly, trying to stretch out her arms and legs as best as she can; her entire body is sore, and even though she has been pumped full of pain meds there’s still a vague discomfort in her legs and abdomen. It’s still dark outside, and she honestly can’t even begin to fathom for how long she’s been sleeping, but she definitely knows it’s been more rest than she’d gotten in the past six months or so and her body, though sore, can feel the difference. She feels lighter already, and not just because her daughter isn’t inside her womb anymore.

She turns to look at the clock  on the nightstand, but something else catches her eye: the seat where Fitz is supposed to be is empty, and so is the bassinet next to her bed. She frowns, wondering where in the world Fitz might’ve taken their newborn daughter, and trying to assess whether it would be a good idea to get out of her room and go looking for them, until she hears some whispering from the other side of the room.

“ _ The world is brighter than the sun _ ,” she hears Fitz whisper-singing in the softest, most beautiful voice she’s ever heard coming from him, “ _ now that you’re here _ .” 

He’s rocking a lump of light yellow blankets back and forth, his eyes fixed on the mountains visible outside of the window. There’s no sunlight yet, but the soft glow of the moonlight reflects on what’s visible of his face and his hair, and he looks positively stunning. One of his fingers seems to be tracing their daughter’s facial features, even though he’s not looking at her, and she finds it admirable how he seems to be memorizing her just with the touch of his fingers, since she’s sure he already has the image of her face burned behind his eyelids. She would know; after all, she doubts she could (or would ever want to) forget the face of her little Kat, all bloody and screaming, just a few minutes old. 

“ _ ‘Cause you are loved, you are loved more than you know _ ,” he continues whisper-singing, and Jemma can’t help the wide smile that takes over her face, “ _ I hereby pledge all my days to prove it so–  _ oh, look!” He abruptly stops singing and points at the window, trying to lift the blanket lump to give their daughter a better line of vision. His wedding ring shines with the new light coming from the outside. “The sun is starting to come out now, can you see it? This is your very first sunrise, Kat. That big bright thing outside is the sun, and it keeps you warm. All of us, really. Not that you’ll get to enjoy it without sunscreen the first years of your life, though, not if your mum has any say in the matter.” He rambles on. Jemma would roll her eyes at her husband’s blatant disregard of infancy development, safety and laws of physics, but she finds the fact that he’s so eager to explain the world to little Kat so incredibly endearing that, instead, her eyes fill with tears.

She shifts on her bed so she’s sitting on the edge, and clears her throat.

“You do realize she can’t really see yet, right?” she points out, and Fitz turns around, surprised to see her awake. His face lights up with one of the biggest grins she’s seen on him yet, but he shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant.

“It’s not like the sun cares about that,” he replies, making Jemma laugh. “Are you coming, Jem?” he asks, and Jemma nods, already placing her barefoot feet on the cold floor. “Do you need help?” he offers, but she lifts her hand to let him know that no, she can walk a few feet from her bed to the window. He doesn’t look convinced, but he leaves her be; it’s not like her stubbornness would let her accept his help.

She uses the wall as support and walks, slowly, to the window, where her husband and daughter are waiting for her. Well, maybe Kat isn’t exactly  _ waiting  _ for her, since she seems to be sound asleep, but Fitz most definitely is, offering one hand that she happily takes, and gently pulling her to him, closing the small gap between them. They’re both now in front of the window, the sun slowly coming up from behind the mountains, and she rests her head on his shoulder as his arm finds its way around her waist. 

She looks at him. “I know this is a tradition of ours,” she says, “and don’t get me wrong, sunrises are beautiful… but I find that I’d much rather be looking at her.” Fitz nods, even if his eyes are still fixed on the window. “It’s like–”

“It’s like not even the sun could shine brighter than she does,” he finishes, and Jemma smiles. She then looks at her daughter’s face, her eyelids moving fast, her lip twitching like she’s dreaming something pleasant, and she knows what Fitz just said is true. She would give up all of the sunrises in the world just to be able to look at her sleeping so peacefully.

Jemma had given up a lot of things in her life and she had been through so much, all the heartache and pain and trauma a person could possibly experience, and she knows Fitz had been through his fair share of horrible experiences, but if there’s one thing she could be sure of is that if they had to go through it all again just to reach this moment, they both would. She knows she wouldn’t change a thing if it meant she would be able to stand next to her husband, best friend and love of her life, and next to their newborn daughter, watching the sunrise.

As long as she is with the two people she loves the most in her life, the sun would always rise again.

Fitz’s gaze is no longer fixed on the horizon, and instead he’s now looking at Kat’s face with adoration. He takes a deep breath, and starts singing again. “ _ I will rearrange the stars, pull them down to where you are, I promise I’ll do better _ –”

“ _ With every heartbeat I have left I’ll defend your every breath, I promise I’ll do better _ ,” Jemma finishes for him, and Fitz beams at her. 

In his arms, Kat stirs and her eyelids flutter before a piercing wail breaks the air and her parents immediately turn their attention to her. 

Outside, the sun shines.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh God I am so sorry this came out of nowhere and hit me full force and I had to get it out, how cliche is this.  
> Anyway, title comes from Light, by Sleeping At Last (because of course yet another Sleeping At Last song inspired a FS fic), and 100% of the inspiration for this fic happened thanks to lil duckling Madeline and a conversation we had so this fic is for her. Thanks as always to Jen for beta-ing and being generally awesome.  
> Also, fun fact, their daughter's full name would be Katherine Mary Fitz-Simmons, I just didn't find a place to put it in the fic. Mary because it's my headcanon that Fitz's mum is named Mary and it's also my headcanon that they'll name their daughter after Fitz's mum, and Katherine because I'm a massive X-Files nerd and wanted them to name their baby after Scully but didn't wanna use "Dana" so. There's that.


End file.
